anyone run a clean/dirty a/b rig?

Started by justinhedrick, March 22, 2011, 11:11:42 AM

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justinhedrick

i'm thinking of re-thinking my setup and running a clean head w/ my effects (distortion pedal included) and a dirty head with just dirt (no effects) to kick in during the loud parts.

anyone done this with great success??

grimniggzy

I don't really see the point unless the clean head is actually clean (i.e. no distortion)

I'll do this sometimes with my Sunn Beta Bass, it has 2 inputs for seperate channels and a both channel.

my signal will look like this...

P bass--->Tuner>Boss OC-2>QTron>SIGNAL SPLITS HERE>RAT II--->Channel 1 on Beta
                                                                             >Chorus--->Channel 2 on Beta

I split the signal with this...
http://www.loop-master.com/product_info.php?cPath=26&products_id=33

It allows me to switch from Channel 1 (Dirty) to Channel 2 (Clean), as well as run both simultaneously.

LogicalFrank

I always start out w/ that idea and end up just running them both dirty all the time, controlling the distortion w/ the volume knob on my guitar just like I would w/ one amp. Two amp setups are cool but end up opening a can of worms and have the very distinct disadvantage of you having to carry more amps around. Running a clean and dirty amp at the same time is kind of cool but also a bit weird in a way you might not expect. The dynamics on the distorted amp are going to be compressed compared to the clean amp so when you play w/ a gentle attack, the distorted amp will be louder. As you dig in a bit more, you can hear the cleans more. It is a nifty effect and sort of makes me feel like I'm playing the clean guitar floating on a cloud of fuzz when I do it. You can do some cool stuff splitting your signal w/ a stereo delay too. In the end, it always feels a bit gimmicky or unnatural to me so I wind up just running the hell out of everything. Of course, if you intend to run either/or and not both that isn't an issue.
"I have today made a discovery which will ensure the supremacy of German music for the next hundred years."

justinhedrick

well, i was wanting to use them all at once, then either. does that make sense?

Baltar

That would be a weird sound.  Sounds like something Billy Corgan would do in the studio.
Friends don't let friends play solid state amplifiers.

justinhedrick

i think it will sound pretty cool, but i'd probably have to radically eq the "dirty" amp to get it to stick out when i have my distortion pedal on on my "clean" amp. i'm going to try it and see what happens.

LogicalFrank

Both amps distorted will sound great.
"I have today made a discovery which will ensure the supremacy of German music for the next hundred years."

justinhedrick

Quote from: LogicalFrank on March 22, 2011, 03:10:24 PM
Both amps distorted will sound great.

very true frank . . . oh the possibilities.

Jake

Sorta. I sometimes run a dirty + dirtier stereo setup.
poop.

hayseed

When i played guitar in my last band, i used a Radial Big Shot ABY to split the sound between a Marshall MA50 with a 1936 cab and a Vox Ac50 combo. I ran the AC50 slightly overdriven and the Marshall was dialed just a tad on the clean side. I loved that sound (it sounded better with a JCM2000 and a 1960a cab). I used both amps at once for the majority of the set. It kind of reminded me of John Christ's tone from the ST Danzig album mixed with a bit of Tim Sult. I have used the AC50 in combination with several amps including an Orange Tiny Terror head with 2x12. Personally its the only way i fly. Creates an original tone to say the least.

I don't think that one running straight clean and the other running dirty will sound that great but...try it out. There is the downside of carrying more amps but i switched to using combos and and 2x12s for that reason. Of course then you need to remember all of the extra cable!
"We just want to make the walls cave in and the ceiling collapse. Music is meant to be played as loudly as possible, really raw and punchy, and I'll punch out anyone who doesn't like it the way I do." - BON SCOTT, AC/DC

Hemisaurus

This is why people start using pre/power amp setups, or using a JC-120.


Mike_Sims

doesn't the guitarist in Colour Haze do that?

LogicalFrank

If you look through the rigs on GuitarGeek, it seems like a lot of dudes have separate amps from cleans. Very popular to have an old Fender combo for cleans and then a Marshall or Mesa or something for dirt. It is a lot easier done when you have a road crew, that's for sure, but I've carried a stack and a half to gigs for just myself and lived to tell. Of course, I had them all turned all the way up all the time but that is a different thing entirely...

"I have today made a discovery which will ensure the supremacy of German music for the next hundred years."

spookstrickland

The Marshall-Fender combo is very nice.  I used to run a Fender Champ with my JCM 800 and it was great!

Quote from: LogicalFrank on March 23, 2011, 10:36:52 AM
If you look through the rigs on GuitarGeek, it seems like a lot of dudes have separate amps from cleans. Very popular to have an old Fender combo for cleans and then a Marshall or Mesa or something for dirt. It is a lot easier done when you have a road crew, that's for sure, but I've carried a stack and a half to gigs for just myself and lived to tell. Of course, I had them all turned all the way up all the time but that is a different thing entirely...


I'm beginning to think God was an Astronaut.
www.spookstrickland.com
www.tombstoner.org

peyotepeddler

Quote from: Mike_Sims on March 23, 2011, 12:31:27 AM
doesn't the guitarist in Colour Haze do that?


i was thinking the same thing, he runs two amps, four cabs


i especially noticed this with "all", there are some fairly saturated passages, yet this very articulate "clicky" undertone in the tunes